OF COURSE 3/18/13 by Resta Burnham

In the March 7 class our topic was “Dance of the Dyads.” On March 21 we will continue exploring some of the same themes in the Course with “Dance of the Avatars”. Specifically, we will look at ideas put forth in the film Avatar, which is being shown at The Church Within for Movie Night on Wednesday, March 20. Those who want to refresh their memories can attend the viewing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, then discuss it further at the Thursday class, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

In its original meaning in Hindu philosophy, an “Avatar” is the incarnation of a divine being (deva) into human experience, usually for a specific purpose. Both Buddha and Jesus have been referred to as Avatars.

In current usage (according to Wikipedia): “An avatar is a computer user’s representation of himself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture), or a text construct. It is an “object” representing the embodiment of the user. The term “avatar” can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.”

In the context of A Course in Miracles, the body is the “avatar” of the mind, which it projects into the world of time and space to act out the purposes of one of two thought systems — the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s:

“T-27.VIII.1. The body is the central figure in the dreaming of the world. 2 There is no dream without it, nor does it exist without the dream in which it acts as if it were a person to be seen and be believed. 3 It takes the central place in every dream, which tells the story of how it was made by other bodies, born into the world outside the body, lives a little while and dies.”

“T-29.IX.4. 4 You do but dream, and [bodies] are the toys you dream you play with. 5 Who has need of toys but children? 6 They pretend they rule the world, and give their toys the power to move about, and talk and think and feel and speak for them. 7 Yet everything their toys appear to do is in the minds of those who play with them.”